ICC World Cup begins today

Sports Reporter :
The International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup begins today.

Defending champions England will take on New Zealand in the inaugural match at Norendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad of India which begins at 2.30pm (Bangladesh Standard Time).

Private satellite sports channel of Bangladesh T Sports, private satellite channel of Bangladesh GTV will telecast the match live.

A total of ten teams will take part in the ICC World Cup, the most prestigious cricket meet of the whole world.

The first phase of the tournament is a single round-robin league basis competition.

All the matches of the gala extravaganza are 50-over-a-side affairs.

Hosts India, England, New Zealand, Australia, Pakistan, South Africa, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Netherlands, Sri Lanka will compete in the 13th edition of the cricket meet.

The first eight teams of the lists are directly taking part in the mega cricket event.

Netherlands and Sri Lanka have qualified for the World Cup after playing the qualification matches, which concluded recently in Zimbabwe.

It may be mentioned that the powerhouse of world cricket West Indies for the first time had failed to qualify in the ICC World Cup since 1975.

The top team of the league will take on the fourth-place achiever team in the first semi-final, while the second-place earner team will meet the third-place achiever team in the second semi-final.

The winners of the semi-finals will face each other in the final on November 19.

Earlier, Australia clinched the World Cup for five times, while West Indies and India emerged the champions for two times each, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and England won World Cup for one time each.

Bangladesh will take on Afghanistan in their first match at Dharamsala in Himachal Province on October 7.